2013 Will Be Wake Up Call For Home Buyers

Home shoppers will likely have more urgency in the new year, wanting to buy before home prices rise even more. Home prices are edging up in most markets, and buyers are taking notice. Buyer surveys recently have shown that home shoppers expect home prices to continue to inch up, and they want to cash in before they rise too much higher. Rising prices could eventually encourage more sellers to put their homes on the market, which would help boost demand even further. These condition area a result of the slow but steady improvement in the operating fundamentals for the housing market, including 33 straight months of private sector job growth and rising housing formations. Steady buying by investors has also helped reduce distressed home inventories. With supplies dwindling, home prices have improved across much of the country, which is helping bring trade-up buyers back into the market. In 2013, rising rents are expected to push more renters to buy, according to a Wall Street Journal report.